hitler's steps to dictatorship

• 2. reichstag fire [27th february 1933] --> set fire by Marius Van der Lubbe, a communist, therefore communists are blamed, and through hateful propaganda, made the bad ones.
• 3. emergency decree for protection of people and state --> arrest of communists, nazis can arrest people without warning and put them into 'protective custody'
• hitler eliminated communist threat --> communists are blames for the Fire and are unpopular. the people felt they needed hitler to protect them from communists. --> 1933.
• 3. enabling act [march 23rd 1933] --> hitler can rule without the involvement of the reichstag.
• 4. trade unions abolished [1st may 1933] --> has control over the workers too.
• 5. concordat with the Pope [20th june 1933] --> removed threat of opposition from the catholic church
• the night of long knives [june 30th 1934] --> hitler kills his opponents who could have been threats to him. he killed SA leaders, including rohm, and anyone else that opposed him. he didnt want any more competition.
• 6. the night of the long knives [30th june 934] --> eliminated opposition in his own party. kill Ernst Rohm, 400 SA officers, Von Kahr [opposition in munich putsch] and general von scheicher. this proves he's ruthless. SS replace the SA --> they are loyal to hitler. army was happy that the SA are now weak and cannot replace them.
• 7. Hindenburg's death [august 2nd 1934] --> hitler declares himself fuhrer and chancellor.

  makes the army swear an oath of loyalty to hitler.
• 14th july 1933 --> any other political parties are banned. germany is now a one-party state.
• april 1933 --> one day boycott of jewish owned shops.
• 5th march 1933 --> election in which only 44% voted for hitler, the nazis won 288 seats, but was not a majority.
• the SA expanded to 2 million by 1933.